Why can't I get with the program?

[Bapak2ja]

I know so many people that adore the 9mm round. It is relatively inexpensive, possesses the ability to stop a bad guy (well, just like a .22 ), and the size of the round allows greater capacity for EDC. However, for some reason I just hate shooting the round and can't figure out why I dislike it.

I got rid of all of my 9mm handguns a couple of years ago and recently decided to purchase another. After shooting Kimball's HK P2000SK in .357 at FNS, I loved everything about the gun. So, I decided to get one if I ever had the opportunity. A couple of weeks later, Kimball notified me that one was in the classifieds and I jumped on it. It was 9mm without a safety, just like I wanted, plus I got a good deal on it.

I meet the member at the range and shot it for a while and it just didn't do it for me. I thought it was because I had been shooting .40 and .45 prior to that. Well, I've taken it to the range a few more times since then and cannot figure out for the life of me why I just don't like the round.

I searched all the 9mm vs 40 threads and my issue isn't comfort, ammo cost, recoil, etc. This just doesn't make sense! I know one of you gun shrinks can help me through this.

Perhaps it's the same reason I have stayed away from the 1911. I get tired of all the hype and adoration from those who are so taken by the 1911 they cannot even talk sense about anything else. So far I have refused to drink the 1911 The 9mm is not the ideal round, but it has advantages that you and others have already identified. Yet it is not the perfect round. It is a compromise round. Economical, effective, ubiquitous. Worth having in the arsenal. Perhaps we should both pick up a 1911 in 9mm just to prove we are not unthinking dunderheads.

 

[halfmileharry]

Well, I guess I'm gonna have to eat at least a few of my words about the .45 vs 9mm.
Yesterday I finally took the time off to shoot the Browning HP that dad left me.
I went through almost 200 rds (it's all I had) in about an hour and I loved shooting the Browning. It had the feel and punch I like.
Maybe it's not the round as much as the JMB designs but anyway you put it, I loved the trigger time with it.
It's the first time I've really enjoyed shooting 9mm since I graduated into long pants.

 

[DaKruiser]

Que, I bet you would like a 1911 in 9mm! I shot Relics Kimber last spring and it was super smooth!

Well, I guess I'm gonna have to eat at least a few of my words about the .45 vs 9mm.
Yesterday I finally took the time off to shoot the Browning HP that dad left me.
I went through almost 200 rds (it's all I had) in about an hour and I loved shooting the Browning. It had the feel and punch I like.
Maybe it's not the round as much as the JMB designs but anyway you put it, I loved the trigger time with it.
It's the first time I've really enjoyed shooting 9mm since I graduated into long pants.

that's great! I shot my M&P 9 last night at FNS for the first time and loved it. Now Que can't give me a hard time about shooting 22 all the time!

 

[Woodro29]

I just wanted to say thanks for all this information. For us newbies it is informative and a great resource! Thanks to everyone for posting with there knowledge.

 

[indiucky]

I like 9mm. I like 22 lr. I like .357 magnum. I like 45 acp. I like .380. I like 38 special. I am not a very handyman yet my tool box has many screwdrivers of every size in it.

I love Jeff Cooper and have been an Elmer Keith fan since I was 12 years old and yet....I still love my 9mm and a loaded w german sig p226 is withing arms reach as I type this....Celebrate diversity.

Indiucky

 

[indiucky]

Well, I guess I'm gonna have to eat at least a few of my words about the .45 vs 9mm.
Yesterday I finally took the time off to shoot the Browning HP that dad left me.
I went through almost 200 rds (it's all I had) in about an hour and I loved shooting the Browning. It had the feel and punch I like.
Maybe it's not the round as much as the JMB designs but anyway you put it, I loved the trigger time with it.
It's the first time I've really enjoyed shooting 9mm since I graduated into long pants.

The BHP is one of the finest weapons you can own. They just "feel" nice.

 

[Rambler]

Not to be a jerk, but your ideas on balistics are not very sound. The size difference in terms of temporary wound cavity between 9/.40/.45 are minumul at best. Same goes for penetration. If carrying a biger round makes you feel safer, by all means. I just can't see saying that this round is biger, therefore it will do a better job at stoping a threat, can cause someone to choose that caliber. If you say, I just prefer x caliber, that makes a lot more sense logicaly.

Logic?

Heavier bullets at similar velocities have more momentum. Fact.

Look at any windshield barrier test conducted with handgun bullets. Regardless of bullet design, 9mm deflects off of target at a wider margin than 40 and 45. Fact. Will the same apply to hard penetrable surfaces in the human body? (Bone) I'll take my chances with a heavier bullet with more momentum.

The majority of human tissue is very elastic, negating most effect of any temporary crush cavity. Permanent crush cavity is the only sure wounding mechanism, and for bullets that penetrate equally, the bigger bullet crushes and destroys more tissue. Fact. How much more tissue? I'll take any advantage that I can get in a gunfight.

Gunfights are usually very quick and dirty affairs, with few rounds expended. If you were in a room with 3 guns laid out on your coffee table, all loaded with ONE round of premium self defense ammo, a 9mm, a 40 and a 45, which one would you pick up to defend yourself against the bad guy breaking down your door, if you could only pick one?

I don't know how big my adversary will be, or what he will be wearing. I do know that when wild boar hunters go out to tangle with their dangerous, tough-skinned, big-boned quarry with handguns, they choose large, heavy bullets at warm velocities, but not a whole lot warmer than my chosen self-defense ammo. 10mm, 44 mag and 45 Colt are used regularly. Don't see any 9mm.

Since police switched over to 40 S&W, you don't hear many of the "failure to stop" horror stories that you used to hear with 9mm. True, modern bullet technology has greatly improved the 9mm, but every advance in bullet technology also applies to the larger service calibers as well. Failures in stopping an attacker CAN happen with any caliber, but I would bet that in any event, the solution would not be to go with a smaller, lighter bullet, at least in handguns anyway.

"Oh no, I shot that guy 7 times with a .45, and he's still coming! Quick, give me some smaller, lighter bullets!" Make any sense?

As far as I'm concerned, all of the supposed advantages of 9mm over the larger service calibers do not apply for civilian self defense, except for cost, and that is not an effectiveness consideration. Most civilian uses of a defensive sidearm are close range, and very quick. I have a stock of 9mm ammo and a couple of handguns for it, but they sit in the safe waiting for the day when the zombies rise and having the NATO caliber with consistent resupply might actually mean something. Until that day, I'll roll with bigger, heavier bullets and know that whatever the outcome of my self-defense encounter, it's extremely unlikely that it would have been better with smaller bullets.

 

[Archbishop]

Wow... You seem a little tense. Take a poop and a nap and I'm sure you will feel much better.

SNERK.
on topic, my taurus 92 is one of my favorite guns to shoot.

 

[bigcraig]

Que, a 1911 in 9mm will ruin you, they are that nice shooting. (Well, as long it is a quality built piece, that is.)